Monthly Archives: March 2013

Age of Wushu: Jianghu System and Relationship Building

Age of Wushu: Jianghu System and Relationship Building

 

In the past, Snail Games has talked about the the combat and quests in Age of Wushu, but there is deep and enriching system for building personal relationships between players and their circles. This interactive relationship adds a deeper element to an already immersive game. The Jianghu System attaches great importance to relationships by placing values on actions performed in game. These actions create a unique dynamic in the world.

 

 

 

 

Basics of the Relationship Interface

 

There are Seven Relationship Types in Age of Wushu:

-Close Friend
-Friend
-Follower
-Acquaintance
-Enemy
-Blood Enemy
-Blacklist

 

 

These relationships have their own functions, some even have their own metrics. Friends and Close Friends are measured by Intimacy, while Enemy and Blood Enemy use Hatred. Sending gifts and teaming up for instances increases intimacy, just as Kidnapping and Killing players increases hatred and reduces intimacy. Making an Enemy is a one-sided affair. After a player is killed, they can add someone to their Enemy list. Players on an Enemy List cannot join in teams or receive gifts from the person that added them to the list. However, drinking Friendship Wine together can help resolved differences, and allow players to bond once more. Any further killing only deepens the animosity between players until they become Blood Enemies.

 

 

 

 

Character Personality Tags

Age of Wushu incorporates the branding of player’s personalities as well. Based on players’ actions in game, this tag is reviews and sorts them into one of four different tags: Heroic, Maniacal, Evil, & Sinister.

 

 

Heroic

Characters with a higher Chivalry  than Guilt rating merit the “Heroic” Tag. Acts have different weight: chivalrous actions such as completing the Faction Challenge, killing a boss, helping the needy, killing kidnappers, or rescuing a dying person are ways in which to gain Chivalry.

 

 

Evil

Players with a higher Guilt than Chivalry rating have the “Evil” Tag. Players increase their Guilt rating by kidnapping, raiding escort caravans, human trafficking or killing a chivalrous player. When a player’s name becomes red, the Constable will attempt to send them to prison.

 

 

Judging both good and bad is often complex, as there are characters who are Chivalrous yet also steal. In Age of Wushu this sort of character falls under the title of “Evilness,” measured by an Evilness value, or “Arrogance,” measured by a Madness value. Different titles are awarded based upon the difference between Evilness and Madness values.

 

 

Character labels affect how teams are labeled. The tag associated with the strongest player on a team determines if the team is labeled as having Heroic, Sinister, Evil, or Maniacal. The tag or reputation of a character changes others perceptions. They can unlock new titles and costumes, raise school reputation, and unlock unique Random Encounters.

MU Online Announces Update 8

MU Online Announces Update 8

 

 

WEBZEN Inc. announced the Season 8 Update for the Full 3D MMORPG, MU Online. The new update will be released with exciting new contents such as the new map, ‘Debenter’ as well as the level cap increase from Level 702 to 730.

 

Debenter: Darkness Valley is the newly added territory where monsters are summoned by the God of Darkness, ‘Kundun’ in Archeron. Players will experience even darker and creepier in-game atmosphere compared to other areas and battle against many types of new monsters that have never been discovered before.

 

Along with this latest update, the ‘Jewel of Pandora’ mining system will be added through  the new item, ‘Pandora Pick.’ Players can use it to obtain up to 1,000 ‘Jewel of Bless’ in a mining area and enjoy the new 10 pentagrams for characters over level 300. Also, new party/guild matching system and SNS system via ‘Facebook’ on mobile phones will be available for the convenience of the players

 

Additionally, a Monthly PVP tournament, ‘Chaos Castle Survival of the Fittest,’ will be held on all servers. Each winning player will enter Mu Online’s Hall of Fame, and also receive ‘Wings of the Conqueror’ as the prize.

 

Jihun Lee, Head of Global publishing, said, “We would like to show our appreciation towards our consistent MU Online players who have shown continuous support.” Also he said, “We hope players can experience the excitement from the newly updated content and more that will continuously come.”

 

Meanwhile, players can participate in the various update events and promotions from 7th of March to 21th of March. All players will be rewarded 200% EXP, and free ‘Gold Channel ticket’, new transformation rings and various free cash items will be given the players during event period. You can also grab an awesome pack designed for both new and returning players alike from our event page at OnRPG!

Morello Leads Charge in Revealing League of LegendsÂ’ Karma Rework

Morello Leads Charge in Revealing League of Legends’ Karma Rework

 

 

Many said it would never happen but Morello lead a blitz of red names on League of Legends’ forum yesterday evening with a near full reveal of champion Karma’s rework, a long waited upgrade to a champion that is joked to be the least seen champion in the game.

 

 

The rework not only offers a complete hi-def upgrade to her ingame model, new splash art, and new voice over but also a change to her kit that allows her to perform as a quasi-carry support champion akin to rivals for the spot such as Zyra and Lux. Check out the 28 red posts and counting on the official thread HERE.

OnRPG Shotgun News 3/7: Neverwinter, World of Tanks, Dragon’s Prophet, and Much More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 3/7: Neverwinter, World of Tanks, Dragon’s Prophet, and Much More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

GW2 Deal of the Day 3/7: Top Hat

 

 

Neverwinter Beta Weekend Features More Everything

More people, more zones, more levels, more everything will be at the Neverwinter beta test this weekend. Thousands of new people will be joining the beta as more invitations go out and lifetime subscribers to STO and Champions Online. A fourth class, Control Wizard will be available for people to play for the first time. This is in addition to new zones, and a raised level cap of 40. All of this is in addition to access to the Foundry. It’s going to be a busy weekend, be sure to check back next week for Ardua’s review of all the fun.

 

 

Major League Gaming Winter Championship

The MLG Winter Championship is wisely being held in the relatively warm Dallas, Texasover the weekend of March 15th. Black Ops II, League of Legends, and Starcraft II will all be played for $170,000 in prizes. Best of all spectators can buy their tickets now on the MLG website.

 

 

Dust 514 Talks Dropsuits

A new four minute long video has been released by CCP, the developers of Dust 514. It goes through dropsuits and fittings available in Dust 514. Plus the news that more dropsuits are being worked on. Have a look at the video for yourself below.

 

 

 

Rixty Gets More Partnerships

For anyone who has been using Rixty to pay for their games there is exciting new as Rixty partners with Wargaming, CCP, and Meteor Entertainment. The payment system is available everywhere from Walmart to 7-11 as well as locations all over the world.

 

 

World of Tanks 8.4 Introduces New British Tank Destroyers

Update 8.4 was released yesterday in Europe, is due for release today in North America andSoutheast Asia. With it rolls in all new British tank destroyers. That isn’t all though, there’s also a new revamped combat tutorial mode and four battle arenas that have been overhauled with new visuals.

 

 

 

The Aurora World Launches Closed Beta

GBE Games’ fantasy MMORPG The Aurora World has entered the closed beta phase. And to celebrate this a video competition is being held. Five videos will be chosen as the best, four will win $100 worth of in game currency and the grand prize winner will receive an awesome Razer prize pack.

 

 

Dragon’s Prophet Reveals New Starting Zone

Satuma is the second starting zone in Infernum’s Dragon’s Prophet. It contains more than 200 quests and reaches to level 30. It is mostly wide open plains surrounded by high mountains and many battles were fought here during the First Dragon War.

 

 

Darkfall Unholy Wars Reveals Character Progression

Character progression in Darkfall Unholy Wars will involve Prowess Points. Prowess Points can be earned through experiences, victories and achievements. Which means most interactions will give prowess points and it will limit the need for grinding.

Renaissance Kingdoms – So You Want To Be a Renaissance Man?

Renaissance Kingdoms – So You Want To Be a Renaissance Man?

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Renaissance Kingdoms is a browser-based MMORPG set in the European Renaissance era. It is developed and maintained by Celsius Online, who have developed other, similar games based on the Aztecs and ancient Japan. Celcius does their best to present the players with a deep and diverse gameworld that simulates the Renaissance while staying fun. You are capable of doing just about anything you would be able to do in the real Renaissance. If you are looking for a great browser-based role play experience, this is the place to look.

 

 

The Cash Shop

Renaissance Kingdoms is a free to play game. Unfortunately, as with all things, nothing is truly free and there is a cash shop that funds the game. You can buy in-game money, skill boost, special packages that give bonuses, clothing and many other items that you would expect to find in a cash shop. Some would take a look at this cashshop and instantly label it as pay-to-win and that is quite understandable. A majority of games that offer this kind of cash shop are.

 

 

However, I personally would not say that the cash shop is over-powered due to the nature of the game. While there is PvP, and having high stats is good, it would cost you a decent chunk of change if you wanted to buy your way into the game. This leads me to believe that it is not done often, as most people who are willing to invest large sums of money into games do it for instant gratification, and the design of Renaissance Kingdoms does not allow for that to be possible.

 

 

Customization

The customization in Renaissance Kingdoms is not very extensive. In fact, it is almost non-existent at character creation. Later on, you can purchase custom portraits in the games cash shop, but you are stuck with what you get for your avatar when you first make your account. As you progress through the game, there are many different paths that you can take in terms of professions. Unfortunately, the lack of meaningful customization at player creation really retracts from the score I will give the game in this area.

 

 

Graphics

Renaissance Kingdoms has recently gone through a bit of a user interface overhaul. While it wasn’t bad before, this enhancement is definitely a welcome thing and really what encouraged us to give the game a look. Besides the interface, the artwork in the game is superb. The cartoony nature of the art style fits well with the game. While I have nothing but compliments for the current graphics, it would be nice if some of the menus that lack artwork got some.

 

 

 

Community

Community plays a big role in Renaissance Kingdoms. Everything is player driven, and I mean everything. The town you join as a peasant is ran by a player mayor and council. Even the new player tutorial is attached to a real player, even if the responses and task are pre-generated. The bread you buy is made by a baker, who bought the flour from a miller, who bought their wheat from a farmer, who hired another player to work his farm. Everything is part of an intricate system that requires people to rely on each other, just as you would need to do in the real world.

 

 

The community itself, from what I have seen, is great. They are extremely helpful to new players. But keep in mind, the game is split up into different kingdoms, and each kingdom has several cities. A majority of my interactions with players are from the other citizens of Glasgow, a city in the Kingdom of Scotland. Which reminds me, a majority of your player interaction will happen in the tavern, where people go to chat, hear news, and buy drinks for each other.

 

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Gameplay

Renaissance Kingdoms is one of the most complex browser games I have ever played. Heck, it’s one of the most complex games I’ve played in general. I do not mean that it’s hard to learn – it’s not, though it will take a bit of research in the beginning. What I mean is that the game has so many different things that are required to be done to keep society moving, that players are forced to work together out of necessity. This is something that, at least in my opinion, even the most advanced sandbox games to date fail at.

 

 

The game is played from the perspective of someone living in the renaissance. You have to feed yourself, work for money for food, keep your character happy so that they will be able to work optimally. The game is also very slow. You won’t become King of Scotland right away, no. It will take probably a year or two of developing your character and making relationships with other players to get to that goal.

 

 

When you start the game, you are nothing but a peon. You will work the mines, saving up your money and gaining the trust of your fellow citizens. Eventually you will have saved up enough money for your first field, but the only thing that changes is that you will have a bit of side income and you will get to start hiring other people to work your fields. Getting to the point of having your first field can take anywhere between two weeks and a month, depending on how you play the game.

 

 

The progression is done with a combination of raising your personal wealth and raising your stats. Stats are raised by eating certain foods that are produced by other players. These foods are usually expensive to eat. Though the game has levels, they mean little in the face of stats. You can be on the same level, stats wise, as a player who is level three at level one. And speaking of levels, there are very few of them and they are used for little more than marking your progression. It can take you months to get from level 0, where you start, to level three, for example.

 

 

In all honesty, actually playing the game only takes a few minutes each day. A majority of the fun, and the time consumed, comes from the interaction with other players and planning your advancement through society. While it only takes a few clicks to feed myself and set my character to work in the mines, it can take thirty minutes to an hour, spread out over several days, discussing with the inhabitants of your city, trying to figure out what the best crop would be for you to grow.

 

 

I already mentioned this before, but the game makes you rely on other players. The butcher can’t get meat without the pig farmer, and the pig farmer can’t raise his pigs alone (well, he can, but it’s not very efficient), he needs to hire another player to help him out. This is the part of the game that is truly interesting and attracted me to it the most. That interdependence that a whole virtual city of players have is wonderful.

 

 

The biggest negative to the game, maybe even the only, is the lack of readily available knowledge. It took me a bit of searching on the forums to finally figure out where I could find the player guides that would explain important things, such as how to raise your crop to get the best yields. Things would have been a lot easier had the developers put a link to that section of the forums in some sort of pop-up when you first log in. But then again, I am sure some people will argue that part of the fun is trying to find all the information and I might be inclined to agree.

 

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that the developers of Renaissance Kingdoms have done a great thing. They were able to make a detailed simulation of life during the renaissance. Beyond this they made a text-only title still be incredibly fun. Initially, I came in to the game dreading the thought of it taking so long to progress, but here I am two months later enjoying it. For me, this just reinforces the idea that games do not need amazing 3D graphics to be fun – graphics pale in comparison to interesting an innovative gameplay. It has been a complete pleasure playing this game, and I believe I will be playing it for years to come.

 

 

Graphics: 2.5/5 – Decent artwork, nice interface. There is room for improvement, however.

Controls: 4/5 – The buttons work well. Not much more you can ask for in this type of game.

Customization: 2/5 – Not really much there, but then again there is a lot of things you can do.

Community: 5/5 – Great people make up the games community.

Features: 5/5 – All the options available to players is superb.

 

Overall: 4/5 – A great browser game!

Starlight Story Launches a New Chapter

Starlight Story Launches a New Chapter

 

Starlight Story

 

The time has come for adventurers to flock to Starlight Story from Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games. Following successful closed and open beta tests, the browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) has officially launched in North America.

 

 

Starlight Story throws players into a valiant quest to save their dying world from destruction. Along the way they will acquire a large collection of pets and change into powerful new forms through the Superstar transformation system. Some bosses may even leave behind their likeness for Superstar transformations after lucky players defeat them.

 

 

The launch brings a brand-new dungeon to Starlight Story: the Demon Tower. Enemies in the Demon Tower can drop special crystals that are used in the new crystal system to add yet another layer to character customization. With enough of these rare crystals, players can permanently boost their character’s stats.

 

Starlight Story

 

Other exciting features that players may not have had the time to explore in beta return as well. Using the Family system, up to 25 friends can work together to complete objectives, eventually earning the right to challenge one of Starlight Story’s imposing world bosses. These monstrous enemies drop highly coveted gear and possibly their own Superstar transformation!

 

 

“Aeria Games is proud to release its very first browser-based MMORPG,” said Tom Nichols, Director of Publishing, Aeria Games. “With our experience launching successful client MMORPGs, we think Starlight Story breaks new ground and is a perfect addition to our catalog of games.”

 

 

Several events will be running in-game to challenge eager players, including a race to level 35 for valuable rewards. Prestigious items will also be awarded to the top ranked families and players in each class.